NICE International hosts Vietnamese Delegation to explore HTA in Vietnam

On 19th November 2015, NICE International hosted a 21-strong Vietnamese delegation headed by Professor Phạm Lê Tuấn, Vice Minister of Health, Vietnam. The delegation comprised a number of heads of departments, directors and senior officials forming a broad spectrum of Vietnamese health policy makers, and they sought to increase their understanding of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) methods, its potential for application in Vietnam and the role of research and other organisations in the HTA process.

NICE International staff and representatives from the British Medical Journal Technology Assessment Group (BMJ-TAG) presented on topics including:

• an overview of NICE, its functions, core principles and practices,
• the nature of and the methods underlying HTA,
• NICE International’s work demonstrating the application of HTA in a Vietnamese setting,
• the role and work of those contracted to conduct HTA for NICE.

The event was well received, particularly with respect to HTA’s workings, application, and regulation. A one-to-one discussion between Professor Phạm Lê Tuấn and Kalipso Chalkidou yielded an agreement for NICE International to continue its collaboration with Vietnam under the international Decision Support Initiative (iDSI), specifically developing Quality Standards on Antimicrobial Resistance.